Police: Man shot, killed after struggle over officers' guns

Updated 5:13 pm, Saturday, August 12, 2017

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police officers shot and killed a man they said tried to grab the guns of first one officer and then another during a confrontation in north Philadelphia, authorities said. It was the second police shooting in that area of the city in a week.

Officers were responding to a report of a stolen vehicle shortly after 5 p.m. Friday in the Fairhill neighborhood. Police said they met with a woman who pointed out the suspect and said he was stealing her car.

An officer approached the 31-year-old man, who was sitting in the driver's seat, and a struggle ensued during which police said he tried to remove the officer's holstered firearm. When backup officers arrived and drew their weapons, the suspect released the gun but then grabbed another officer's weapon, police said.

"The male did comply initially. He let go of Officer No.1's gun, but then he grabs Officer No. 2's gun and a struggle for that firearms ensued," Capt. Sekou Kinebrew, of the office of public affairs, told reporters.

The officer "discharged his firearm one time while the offender was holding the barrel, and at the same time (the other two officers) then discharged their firearms," he said in a statement Saturday.

The man was wounded in the torso and legs and was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about a half-hour later. His name wasn't immediately released. No officers or other civilians were injured, police said.

The shooting was the second by Philadelphia police in north Philadelphia in a week. On Monday, police shot and wounded a man who they said opened fire on them during a standoff, sending stray bullets into a nearby home.